Removing tool for sheet binding staples



Aug. 15, 1933. A. R. HEISE REMOVING TOOL FOR SHEET BINDING STAPLES Filed D60. 14. 1931 INVENTOR /1 /5 ATTQRN EYS Patented Aug. 15,1933

. 1,922,681 REMOVING TOOL FOR SHEET BINDING STAPLES Arthur R. Heise, Woodbridge, Conn; asslgnor to The Wm. Schollhorn Company, New York, N. Y., a Corporation of Connecticut Application December 14, 1931. Serial No. 580,769

' 6 Claims. (01. 254-28) This invention relates to a device for removing staplesfrom sheets of paper or other material which have previously been secured together by the staples.

It is common practice to fasten together sheets of paper, for example, the several sheets of a letter or other document, by means of small wire staples which are usually applied by means of a stapling machine. These staples are ordinarily made of wire of comparatively fine gauge and the stapling machines carrying a supply of these staples and are so constructed that when the sheets to be fastened together are placed in the stapling machine and the operating handle of the machine actuated, the prongs of the staple are projected through the sheets of paper and automatically bent over against the. surface of the bottomsheet into approximately parallel relation with the body of the staple. It is a matter of common knowledge among those whose use this means for securing sheets together that the removal of these staples for the purpose of rearranging the sheets, or otherwise, is a source of annoyance. The stiffness of the wire of which the staples are made, and the fact 'that the staples themselves are so small in size as to be diflicult to grasp with the fingers makes it hard to straighten the prongs sufiiciently to remove the staple without disfiguringthesheets.

It is the object of the present invention .to provide a device which will readily remove these staples without mutilating the sheets, which is simple inconstruction and low in cost of manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is of such construction that it is convenient, in fact, which is so quick and reliable in operation that it invites use.

The invention will be understood from a consideration of the following description taken together with the accompanying drawing which respectively describes and illustrates by way of example its present best embodiment.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device of my' invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view looking from the bottom,

section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and a side elevation showing the position of the jaws after the withdrawing of the staple is started;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views corresponding to Figs. 5 and 6 after the jaws have completed their movement and the staple is entirely withdrawn from the'sheets.

Fig. 9 shows a sheet containing holes out of which the staple has been extracted.

Referring now to the drawing, the device comprises a pair of hinged members constituting a plier instrument, upon the jaws of which particular parts are mounted by means of which the staple is extracted or withdrawn from the sheet of paper merely by the act of grasping the instrument and'closing the same with the hand. The hinged members are indicated at 1 and 2, respectively, and are hinged at 3. The lower ends of these members terminate in jaws 4 and 5, while the upper ends constitute the handles by which the device is manipulated. Ahelical spring 6 surrounds the hinge 3 and is arranged to, hold the jaws normally open in the position shown in Fig. 1. An eye 6a may be attached to one of the handles, andmay be conveniently formed by 30 opening one end of the spring 6 into the shape desired. v

Mounted upon the jaw 5 is a member 7 having a body portion which is arranged substantially at right angles to the longitudinal center line of the pliers, and having a shank 8 for securing the member to the jaw. The jaws 4 and 5 are of U shape or channel section as may be seen in the drawing, and shank 8 lies against the web of the channel and is firmly held in position by the sides or fiangesof the channel-shaped jaw and by a single rivet 9.

The body portion of member '7 terminates in a thin substantially flat tongue 10 which is'preferably sharpened slightly at its end so as to facilitate its entrance beneath the staple. At each side of tongue 10 shoulders 11 are provided for a purpose which will presently appear.

The jaw 4 is provided with a simple fiat nose 12 which consists merely of a straight surface of a width approximately equal to the width of tongue 10. Tongue 10 and the body portion of member '7 are so mounted that as the jaws move toward each other the end of nose 12 passes close to, and preferably grazes the upper surface of the tip of tongue 10. The position 01' the body and tongue is such that after grazing the tip of the tongue nose 12 moves close to the upper surface of member 7 until the jaws meet.

Referring now to Figs.-3 and 4, it will be understood that the staple to be removed has a straight body portion 13 which is on the upper side of sheets 14 and two prongs 15 which have been bent substantially fiat against the surface of the lowermost sheet 14. In order to use the device it is necessary only to merely catch the tip of tongue 10 under the body portion 13 of the staple and then squeeze the handles of the device together. Three different positions of the nose 12 and member '1 are illustrated in Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive.

In Fig. 4 the handles have been squeezed sufflciently to cause nose 12 to engage body portion 13 and hold the same while tongue 10 has been advanced beneath the body of the staple until the prongs 15 of the staple engage the shoulders 11. In'Figs. 5 and 6 the nose 12 has advanced past the shoulders 10 and this causes the straightening of prongs 15 to commence. As the body 13 of the staple passes the shoulders 11 the prongs 15 are forced against the shoulders 11 and the portions of the prongs close to the bights are forced against the sides of tongue 10 immediately adjacent these shoulders. The continued movement of nose 12 and body 13 causes these prongs to be drawn over the edges of the corners formed by the parts just mentioned and this exerts a straigthening action on the prongs without injuring the sheets 14. In Fig. 6 the opposite edges of the holes through the sheets are offset somewhat by the angular position of the staple, but the edges swing back to normal position as soon as the staple is removed.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the nose 12 has continued its movement until the prongs 15 of the staple have been entirely withdrawn from the holes 16, and the staple lies upon the upper surface of the body of member '7 and is held between the jaws 4 and 5. The staple will drop out of the jaws just as soon as the grasp of the hand is released, allowing spring 6 to return the jaws to their normal position shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 9 the holes 16 are shown in their original circular form, there being no mutilation whatever of the sheets 14 during the withdrawing operation. As shown in the drawing, the width of tongue 10 is equal to the distance between the prongs 15 of the staple, and nose 12 is also of the same width. Accordingly, the prongs 15 are returned to substantially straight condition at right angles to the body 13 during the withdrawal of the staple, as shown in Fig. '7. It has been found, however, in actual practice that this is not necessary and that entirely satisfactory removal of the staples from the sheets is accomplished by making the tongue 10 and nose 12 substantially narrower in width than the spacing of prongs 15.

Although the best present embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated herein, changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for removing sheet binding staples comprising a blade adapted to enter beneath the body of the staple and the material holding the same, said blade having a pair of spaced shoulders for engaging the front sides of the staple prongs, and means for forcing said blade between the staple body and the material holding the staple, and for thereafter carrying said staple body along the upper surface of said blade beyond said shoulders, thereby to straighten the prongs of the staple and draw the same from thereof to engage the side of the body of the staple and cause the blade to be forced between the staple body and the material holding the same, and thereafter to carry the body of the staple beyond said shoulders thereby to straighten the prongs of the staple and draw the same from the material.

3. In a device for removing sheet binding staples, a plier instrument including two hinged members providing a pair of jaws at one end and a pair of handles at the other end, one of said jaws having mounted thereon a member having a blade terminating in a thin flat tongue adapted to enter between the body of the staple and the material holding the same, said tongue having shoulders at each side thereof for straightening the prongs, of the staple as it is withdrawn, and the other of said jaws having a straight nose arranged to pass close to the surface of said tongue as thejaws are closed and carry the body of the staple over said surface and the surface of the blade thereby withdrawing the staple from the material and straightening the prongs thereof as it is withdrawn so as to prevent mutilation of the sheet.

4. In a device for removingv sheet binding staples, a plier instrument including two hinged members providing a pair of jaws at one end and a pair of handles at the other end, one of said jaws being of channel shape in cross section, a blade having a parallel-sided shank portion fitting within said channel, means for securing said shank within said channel, said blade terminating the body of the staple and the material holding the same, said tongue having shoulders at each side thereof for straightening the prongs of the staple as it is withdrawn, and the other of said jaws having a nose arranged to pass close to the surface of said tongue as the jaws are closed and carry the body of the staple over said blade, thereby withdrawing the staple from the material and straightening the prongs thereof as it is withdrawn so as to prevent mutilation of the sheet.

5. A device for removing sheet-binding staples comprising a thin blade adapted for insertion between the body of a sta'ple to be extracted and the material holding the staple, said blade having a front edge of a width less than the distance between the prongs of the staple, and a prongengaging portion rearwardly of the front edge of a width greater than the distance between the prongs of the staple, and means for forcing the body of the staple along the upper surface of said blade while the lower surface thereof rests upon the material holding the staple to withdraw the prongs of the staple from the material holding the staple. r

6. A device for removing sheet-binding staples comprising a thin blade adapted for insertion between the body of a staple to be extracted and the material holding the staple, said blade having a front edge of a width less than the distance along the upper surface of said blade while the lower surface thereof rests upon the material holding the staple to cause the prongs of the staple to pass over'said prong-engaging portion as they are withdrawn from the material holding the staple.

ARTHUR R. HEIBE. 

